1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slide fastener having a slider which is adapted to a fastener chain, in which a knitting structure is used for a fastener tape and fastener elements are attached to a side edge of the tape of the knitting structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a slide fastener has a slider which is slidable along fastener elements and by sliding the slider, the fastener elements are engaged or disengaged so as to close or open the slide fastener. Generally, the sliding operation of the slider is executed by pulling a pull attached to the slider with user's fingers.
Some users sometimes try to open the slide fastener attached to a fabric of clothes, bag, or the like by pulling the fabric forcibly without operating the pull of the slider. Particularly, this tendency is remarkable in a slide fastener attached to fabric of trousers. This action may make the fastener elements caught into a tape guide groove between a flange of the slider and an opposing blade thereby possibly disabling the sliding of the slider.
To solve this problem, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-262309 (Document 1) has disclosed a slide fastener as shown in FIG. 5, in which a slider 1′ is mounted on a fastener chain having coil fastener elements provided on a side edge of a tape in the fastener tape and in the slider 1′, the lateral width of a rear end located at a rear mouth 11′ side of the flange 9′ is larger than the lateral width of a front end located at a shoulder mouth 10′ side, so that the flange is expanded gradually from the rear end to the front end, and a top surface of the flange 9′ has a flat portion 31′ parallel to the blade 6′, such that a gap between the blade 6′ and the flat portion 31′ formed on the top surface of the flange 9′ is slightly larger than the thickness of the fastener tape.
In the slide fastener disclosed in Document 1, in order to prevent the coil fastener elements from escaping from the slider 1′, the flange 9′ is provided with a wide end face portion 32′ having a large width at the front end of the flange, inverted portions adjoining each other of the coil fastener elements contacting the wide end face portion, so as to prevent the front end of the flange 9′ from surpassing the inverted portion, thereby blocking the coil fastener elements from escaping from the gap between the top surface of the flange 9′ and the blade 6′.
In recent years, a slide fastener attached to a fabric of clothes has been demanded to have plasticity and therefore, a knitted fastener tape having a warp knitting structure has been utilized. This knitted tape is so plastic that it is likely to be deformed. Thus, if it is intended to release the slide fastener by pulling the fabric forcibly, the fastener elements invade into the tape guide groove from the rear end of the flange as well. Therefore, if the tape guide groove is formed narrower to make it difficult for the fastener elements to invade into the tape guide groove, wales of the knitted tape and flange located within the tape guide groove are excessively pressed so that the sliding resistance of the slider is increased, thereby disabling an easy operation of the slider.
The invention has been accomplished considering the above-described problems. A main object of the invention is to provide a slide fastener in which a flange on a side of a rear mouth of a slider is capable of maintaining fastener elements in a stabilized condition even in any use condition without pressing a surface of a wale on a tape of a knitting structure and further, the fastener elements are prevented from biting into a tape guide groove between the flange and a blade opposing this flange and escaping from the tape guide groove, thereby ensuring a smooth sliding of the slider.
Another object of the invention is to provide a slide fastener capable of maintaining the slider in a stabilized condition with respect to a knitted tape and sliding the slider smoothly so as to prevent an occurrence of troubles.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a slide fastener in which the guide performance of the fastener elements is intensified and a rear end on the side of the rear mouth is disposed securely between wales of the knitted tape, thereby realizing a smooth operation of the slider under a stabilized condition.
Further, another object of the invention is to provide a slide fastener in which a bottom end face of the flange on the side of the rear mouth of the slider is disposed securely between the wales of the knitted tape with a simple configuration so as to allow the slider to be operated under a stabilized condition. In addition, it is another object of the invention is to provide a slide fastener capable of exerting the function securely and effectively by specifying the structure of the bottom end face of the flange of the slider.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a slide fastener which can be utilized effectively with a slider having a specific configuration by specifying the knitting structure of the tape used for the slide fastener.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a slide fastener which is capable of exerting an excellent function even if the fastener elements are deformed or moved more or less during use by specifying the kind of the fastener elements used for the slide fastener and which is a stabilized high-quality knitted slide fastener.